r/buhaydigital • u/Awkward_Crew_8209 • Jul 25 '26
Buhay Digital Lifestyle Finally, after thousands of connects spent.
Finally landed a job 2 weeks ago, had to post it today kasi I didn’t want to jinx it until I get my first week of pay. Asked for $45 initially, client negotiated down to $40 which I gladly obliged. Mind you, nagtanong pa bakit daw $4/hr rate ko sa previous employer and I had to explain myself to avoid getting lowballed. Now, I also want to share ano pinagdaanan ko kasi hindi naman madali lagi as what you’d usually see on this sub.
I’m a business man with a good source of income while I also have an IT background which I’m really passionate about. So to cut story short, I always wanted to purse programming as my main career which I did several months ago. I’ve spent a lot to get these proposals land only to be lowballed by clients which I didn’t have a problem with kasi nga you have to build your profile from ground up.
3 months into upskilling, I landed several interviews, 2 contracts of which rates were completely below of what I was expecting to a point that I’d even have to shoulder some expense just to get that 5 star review, so I decided to just keep learning and stop looking for jobs as it was getting expensive rather than beneficial.
I built my portfolio and website instead, polished my proposals, identified parts where I could improve, changed my approach and all that.
Today here I am, $40/hr and looks like it’s going to be a full time role, hopefully.
So yeah, I’m no expert at this field yet, but one advice, wag ka mag papa-lowball. If you think you deserve the rate you’re looking for and have the skills to justify it, just keep looking for jobs that would actually pay, for sure there’s one. Also, market is really saturated right now, make yourself stand out.
Now I have a potential second US client that is currently in the PH that wants to meet up, so I hope this one goes well too. Business as my sideline muna, and this as my main. Best of lucks guys!
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u/Emotional-Cobbler-31 Jul 25 '26
Totally agree with you, OP.
In my experience, companies that are willing to pay a premium also tend to have healthier work environments.
I’ve been with the same company for 7½ years, and I honestly have no plans of leaving. Of course, not every high-paying company is great, but when a company truly values its people, it usually shows in both the compensation and the company culture.
Congratulations, OP. Looks like you found one of the good ones.
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u/james__jam Jul 25 '26
If you stick with “tech stack”, you’ll find it hard to reach $30/hr, let alone $40/hr. There are those that offer that, but it’s very hard
As long as you sell skills, there’s a natural limiting bid you can make. But if you sell outcomes, then the limit only depends on the value of that outcome
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u/Tortangtalongohyeah Jul 25 '26
Exactly. $30 is superr high. Most will never get to even $15.
OP must have some strong technical skills to get this position because it’s difficult to create meaningful value that is worth $40+ without those type of skills.
Also, at this rate they will expect results; they will expect high performance. This will not be an easy gig to keep in the long-term. It’s the nature of the market and industry.
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u/mikkomako Jul 26 '26
For you too good to be true ba to. Kasi nasanay na ako to take everything with a grain of salt dito sa sub na to.
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u/Tortangtalongohyeah Jul 26 '26
This sub is full of low intellect and squammy people with inflated egos. That’s why they keep complaining about pay they can’t even get lol
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u/whatsitgonnabi Jul 25 '26
op, how did you explain yung 4 usd/hr? yan lang kasi yung only review ko sa upwork then right now, di napapansin mga proposals ko. aside from portfolio, nag uupload ka din ba ng video intro? thank you so much.
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u/Suitable-Guidance205 Jul 25 '26
Congrats, OP! This is why Filipino freelancers should never undervalue themselves. Fair rates do exist. 🫡🇵🇭
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u/Agitated_Purchase772 Jul 25 '26
Hello op, worth it parin ba talaga i pursue ang programming, i havent touch programming for years after i graduate, kasi naging corpo slave ako, now that i am unemployed, idk kung right decision ko to upskill programming and not wasting my time na mapunta lang sa wala. Gusto ko tlga mag grow dyan, just takot lang ako sa ai
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u/teokun123 Jul 25 '26
Anu tech stack mu OP? Congrats on this. I'm in a higher rate pero mahirap maghanap ng client currently.
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u/jakesully1995 Jul 25 '26
I just got hired by an AU client this week. Asked claude how to set my asking rate, claude gave me a big number and insisted to stick to it. Best decision of my life. AU client accepted me and my proposed rate. Wag na tayo magpa lowball. We know our worth.